How to practice mindfulness and live an intentional life (with Reiki)

Let me tell you a story. It’s the story of Mullah Nasruddin, a humorous character in Islamic mysticism.

In his garden, the Mullah had an apple tree so beautiful and fruitful that children sneaked into the garden to steal delicious treats. Every time the Mullah saw a child nearing the tree, he would charge out of the house screaming and yelling.

One day, a neighbor who had been watching the daily drama said, “Mullah, the tree in your garden gives so much more than you could possibly eat. Why do you chase the poor children away?”

“Children,” said the Mullah, “are like thoughts. When you chase them away, you can be assured they will return.”

If you have ever tried to meditate, you probably know how hard it is to clear your mind. The more you try to chase your thoughts away, the stronger they become.

I have had a meditation practice for many years and have experienced the deep benefits of meditation, but still I know that when the monkey mind gets crazy, it’s difficult to stay mindful of the present moment.

Is mindfulness really that important?

These are just a few of the benefits of mindfulness:

Stress reduction

Memory boost

Improved focus

Less emotional reactivity

More relationship satisfaction

When explaining the term to my students in the simplest way, I say that mindfulness is giving attention to the present moment with no judgment. Yet we usually spend very little time in the present moment. If we’re not thinking about the future, we are worrying about the past. The results are fear, self-blame and regret.

Why Reiki is my favorite form of mindfulness meditation

When I started learning meditation, I was spending most of my time feeling sorry for myself. Anxious, depressed, and grieving the loss of six pregnancies, I felt hopeless about the future. And you know what? The more I meditated, the sadder I felt.

Finding Reiki helped me to uplift my sadness. Within days, I felt a sense of hope and inner peace that I had been missing for a decade. What started as a healing tool became my daily mindfulness practice for 22 years and counting.

Why practice Reiki daily

Let’s say that you’re going skiing. If you haven’t exercised even once before you go, your body is likely to get sore. But if you start exercising regularly a few weeks before you hit the slopes, your body will be more up to the challenge, right?

It’s the same with mindfulness. Mindfulness doesn’t make you immune to stress. But it’s much easier to stay calm in stressful situations when you are used to practicing mindfulness.

I tell my students that when they give Reiki to themselves, even for five minutes a day, they create an invisible “energy battery” they can call on in times of need. Once you tap into Reiki, you create an alignment with the most loving, strong form of positive universal energy. You focus on the present moment. The process is effortless. It happens by itself.

Once you start giving Reiki to yourself, you automatically become mindful and intentional of the present moment, without needing to work hard to get there.

More than 1000 people have completed the Beacons of Change Reiki training. Many of them report that the mindfulness practice the training helped them cultivate allows them to be:

More present with family members

More focused at work

Less emotionally reactive

Better at making decisions

More at peace

And when they’re not, they give Reiki to themselves and quickly bounce back.

Why you need to take a class before starting to practice Reiki

Anybody can practice Reiki. The only requirement is that you take a class first with a Reiki Master who can guide you through a series of four initiations called the Reiki Attunement. The Reiki Attunement is a process of opening and expanding your awareness and raising your vibration so you can tap into the endless source of universal energy and practice automatic mindfulness.

Would you like to learn more?

Click here to visit our Reiki page, where you can read 7 Real Life Reiki Stories from our graduates, explore our Reiki lineage, try our free introductory video course, and sign up for a class with one of our Reiki Masters in Atlanta or New York City.